Cold, hungry, lonely and scared, Nikki soon discovers that life on the streets of London is even tougher than she thought it would be.  Nick, though, is used to scraping together a living for himself and his family.  And whilst neither of them means to break the law, they soon find that isn’t as easy as it sounds.

Two teenagers, a hundred years apart, offer a compelling insight into homelessness in this powerful novel from the author of Stone Cold.

What are the themes?

Prejudice, courage, survival, family, loyalty, homelessness and injustice. Cross-curricular links to history, geography and PSHE are strong.

Teaching points

The intriguing and thought-provoking parallel narratives of Nikki in the present day and Nick in the mid-nineteenth century make this an ideal text for Key Stage 3 offering excellent cross-curricular links. Linguistic discussion is provoked by the extensive use of historical dialect.